Shadow of the Old Empire
by Seraphis88
Summary: "Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me." - The Sith Code Summary wouldn't fit so it's at the beginning of the preview. All rights go to Lucasfilm, formerly LucasArts, Disney and EA. I only own anything that's not familiar.
1. Preview

Long ago during the time of the Old Republic, the Resurgent Sith Empire came out of the shadows of Unknown Regions to wage a war against their enemies after a millennium of exile following the Great Hyperspace War. The Battle of Korriban, the first battle of the Great Galactic War, sparked a war that lasted 28 years, until the Sacking of Coruscant and the signing of the Treaty of Coruscant. In 3643 BBY, a young Sith would come into power as a natural interrogator and tactician; able to influence entire battles to her advantage. Lord Immitis, sometimes called "The Empire's Shadow," was an elusive figure in galactic history. Her real name unknown to many but a select few, the Sith Lord was one of the greatest adversaries the Jedi and Republic ever faced. So they placed her in carbonite and hid her on Belsavis, their prison planet, where she stayed for over three millennium. Until now...

* * *

"You were in the Clone Wars?" Luke asked incredulously.

"I've seen more war than most, kid," Kalei sighed sadly. "But I know that I will do anything to get my best friend back. I may be the only one who can. So if that means getting involved in another war, so be it."

"Who?"

"Your father, Anakin Skywalker."

"But Ben-"

"-said he was dead? Hardly. He's just lost, and I have to find him again. You have no idea how often I had to save his ass during the War," she chuckled fondly.

"Can you tell me about him? And my mother?" Luke asked eagerly, hope and excitement shining in his eyes.

"Of course. I'll start at the beginning, at the events that led me to meet your mother and father for the first time."

* * *

So here's a preview of my new story that I'm writing at the moment. I'm really looking forward to doing this after watching TFA back in December. This will not be in this book, but is kind of an introduction to the series. I plan on doing the prequels, Clone Wars, Rebels, The Force Unleashed, the saga, and the sequels. It's going to be big!

I'll be posting chapters soon and will likely do two updates a week if I can; otherwise it'll be once a week.

I know people have been waiting patiently for me to update my other stories, but they've been put on hold indefinitely due to lack of inspiration. I don't know if I'm growing out of writing FF for VD and TO (even though Elijah is still bae 3), but I don't want to write something really crappy for people who have been waiting almost 2 years.

This story is my main focus for the time being, and I know where I'm going to be taking it, so I hope you'll enjoy it.


	2. Episode I: Chapter 1

"I have to say I'm surprised, Your Highness. I didn't think you of all people would be looking for my services. I thought you looked down on my kind of people," a white-blonde haired young woman inquired blandly, almost bored with the conversation.

Not many things grabbed the attention of the young woman much anymore, not since her awakening on Belsavis four years ago. At one time, her name caused her enemies to tremble in fear of her wrath. She was a stalker of shadows, and no one outside of a select few knew her real identity. Well known for being an expert tactician and interrogator, Kalei Syrus, known as Lord Immitis or the Empire's Shadow, was a prominent Sith Lord of the Sith Empire during the Cold War and the beginning of the Galactic War. She gained the respect of many of her peers, including Darth Marr, unofficial leader of the Dark Council, and surprisingly, the attention of the Emperor. She had no idea why the Emperor took an interest in her, and still didn't to this day, but she used that advantage to gain more power and knowledge into the dark side of the force.

She soon came across a ritual that would manipulate midi-chlorians to stop the aging of an individual. It wasn't exactly an immortality ritual; since you could still die, but it would allow someone to live pass their time without any physical changes. It was a lengthy ritual, requiring months of preparation before it could be performed and powerful artifacts of the dark side to power it. It was all worth it in the end though, as she felt the power reshape her into something glorious. Her power increased as a result of the ritual, thus making her a bigger threat against the Jedi and the Republic.

However, she wouldn't get to experience the advantages of her power for long. On a mission to Belsavis at the beginning of the Great Galactic War, she was ambushed by Jedi and Republic Special Forces and forced into a carbonite chamber when they couldn't incapacitate her long enough to kill her. Rather than risk her going free, they chose carbon-freezing to trap her until she dies. However, they didn't know of the ritual she performed, thus making this point moot as she stayed alive far past her time. Erased from Republic records, the Sith were not able to find her for the duration of Galactic War and the Eternal Empire's conquest, eventually giving up hope that she was alive.

For three millennium she slept, watching events in the galaxy through the Force. She grew increasingly frustrated at the state of the galaxy, especially after the fall of her beloved Sith Empire, first at the hands of the Eternal Empire and later by the Republic. With the extinction of the Sith species, and the dwindling numbers of Sith, she knew that the likelihood of creating an empire like before had diminished. She grew disgusted at the the newest dogma of the 'False Sith,' as she calls them, and their 'Rule of Two.' How dare they try to rewrite millennium of Sith teachings and call themselves 'Sith,' when they haven't earned the right and honor to hold the title.

3604 years after being trapped in carbonite, the power cells of the carbonite block malfunctioned, causing it to release her into a dark chamber deep within Belsavis' prisons. It took her a few hours for her to gather her bearings from the hibernation sickness, but she eventually made it back to her ship, which was surprisingly intact after three millennium. On board, she found HK-51, an assassin droid she found on Belsavis back when she was an apprentice so long ago, and her closest companion throughout her career as a Sith. As of this moment, her favorite droid was busy hunting targets of a list she compiled to keep him at peak efficiency. It always made him happy when he exterminated targets that she gave him, as there was always an air of smugness that seemed to radiate off him after he completed an assignment. She had no problem with it though, she was proud to have an efficient assassin droid that enjoyed what he was programmed for.

"Unfortunately," the cool regal voice of the Queen of Naboo interrupted her thoughts, bringing her back to the present, "I don't have the luxury of turning away possible help. With the Trade Federation's blockade around the planet, I worry about the safety of myself and my handmaidens. I have the highest confidence in my security, but they don't have the training or the numbers to deal with a possible invasion."

"And what do you suggest I do? Ask them nicely to please go away?" Kalei replied mockingly as she smirked at the young queen, who was barely a girl herself at fourteen.

Only a small twitch in her demeanor showed the Queen's displeasure at being disrespected by the bounty hunter in front of her, knowing she was mocking her pacifist ways. Since replacing her predecessor, former King Ars Veruna, she felt like she had a lot to prove since she was younger than many of the people she does business with. However having this shoved in her face, by an outsider no less, made her stiffen her back and give the older woman a withering glare.

Deciding to ignore the mocking, acknowledging it would just give the woman more ammunition against her, Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo decided to get back to business. "I would like to hire you as a bodyguard, in disguise of course, and act as Head handmaiden. You will be in charge of protecting the others, but especially my decoy, Sabé and myself, in the case that the Trade Federation decide to attack us. You'll be well compensated, and all I ask is that you at least undergo basic handmaiden training so you'll be able to pass as one and change your appearance so you'll look similar."

Kalei tilted her head slightly as she narrowed her eyes in thought. It wasn't a bad job, and it seemed like easy money for doing nothing more than being a glorified bodyguard. And honestly, bounty hunting hadn't been the same since she left Jango Fett a year earlier when he was offered a job on Kamino, a water planet she wasn't familiar with. The two of them were lovers for a time, but knew that each were far too cynical for the romanticized love you see in holovids. They became close friends, always able to rely on each other when they needed help. She still visits him from time to time, rekindling their unlikely relationship, but she hasn't seen him in months. She had a feeling that she wouldn't see him for a while longer if she accepted this job, which caused some hesitation, but her curiosity proved stronger.

Making her decision, she focused her eyes back on the Queen, who waited patiently for her answer. "I'll do it." Who knows, she may get some excitement, or at least some amusement out of this experience. It's not every day you get to impersonate a Royal Handmaiden.

Thinking back over the years, she sometimes questioned whether or not she should have accepted the job; if her life wouldn't have been easier if she had stayed out of it. If she had never met them. However, she remembered gazing down at the baby bundled up in her arms, staring at her with their bright blue eyes, which hardened her resolve. It was worth it, because she wouldn't have met him.

* * *

So there's the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed it and please leave a comment telling me what you think. I know I can't satisfy everyone, but knowing that people like what I'm writing helps stay more confident in the direction I plan on taking this series.


	3. Announcement

**Announcement:**

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't been on in a while, family and personal matters got a little out of control the past couple years, especially last year. This unfortunately took any inspiration at the time to write for any of my stories. Now that the family matters are starting to resolve and my personal ones are starting to get some attention, I started to get in the writing mood again.

However, I do **NOT** know when I will be getting back to my Vampire Diaries/The Originals fan fictions, as I really have no inspiration to continue them. So I'm on the fence about either putting them up for adoption or just discontinuing them, and the same goes for the rest of my stories. For now they are on hold indefinitely until otherwise **OTHER** than the ones I will mention below:

 **인류가** **(Humanity) (Train to Busan Fan Fiction)**

This is a new project I started a couple days ago after watching the South Korean horror film and will have some themes that may make others uncomfortable. I will try to not be offensive, but I may unintentionally get something wrong. I have been trying to research South Korea's culture so that I have some basic understanding about customs there. I may need someone to help with this if it comes to it.

 **Shadow of the Old Empire (Star Wars Fan Fiction)**

This I started late January 2016, but personal matters and other commitments made it impossible for me to find time to write. I do plan on writing a few chapters for this soon to have on hand to be ready to publish.

 **Unnamed Resident Evil Story (Resident Evil Games Fan Fiction)***

 **Unnamed Olympus Has Fallen Story (OHF Fan Fiction)***

 _*These stories will_ _ **NOT**_ _be published until I have most of the chapters typed out and ready to publish. So the publication dates are TBD._

Other than these four stories, everything else is on hold indefinitely. Please do not pressure me into updating them, as that will only annoy me and push me further away from actually wanting to continue them. I'm happy to finally start writing again and can't wait to post things in the future.

And one last thing, thank you to every one of my readers who has stuck by me for the past few years, even though I know some of you were probably annoyed at my lack of updates. I'm hoping to try and have some updates out by the end of April next month. I'm going to try and have some chapters written up so they are ready to go by then.

\- Seraphis


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